Worst Winning Dress – Melissa McCarthy

Oy, oy, oy. Again we wonder why we’re looking at the dress, rather than the woman. So let me dispense with this part first.

I didn’t like Melissa McCarthy’s dress. I didn’t think it was attractive to look at. It was way, way better in the wide shot when they were all standing up together than it was in closeup. Perhaps she knew this. Perhaps, given that the gig was prearranged, she went for something that would be striking onstage. I do not know, it did not work, and that’s saying something when, as Lainey pointed out, it was hard to choose a dress that stood out as good.

But in view of that, I really started thinking, why don’t we put the women in uniforms? There were so many red columns last night that I thought – why don’t we make that the uniform, like the men in penguin suits, and THEN see who looks the best. Any takers?

So. Wardrobe talk done. Award talk now.

The presentation was AMAZING. I loved seeing them all up there together, full-pageant styles. And, I should add (even though I’m a broken record on this topic) this is how Poehler, whose idea it was, and Fey, believe it should be. You’re not competing against women, the other people who make it funny are your comrades.

And so it was great to see McCarthy win, because they were all genuinely happy for her, and she got to be surrounded with hugs, AND because we rarely see that kind of ‘gathering of funny women’ outside of SNL magazine features. So I loved it. McCarthy totally deserves to be in that group –

But not for Mike and Molly.All y’all who have watched Gilmore Girls know McCarthy’s been funny in Stars Hollow for years, and thanklessly at that. All of you who loved Bridesmaids know she was the funniest part. But that’s what she won for. For being a breakout-non-traditional funny-but-palatable ‘big girl’ whose humor is not about being a big girl.

She didn’t win for Mike and Molly, which is about the wacky world of fat people in love.

She didn’t, right? She won because the academy needed to reward her, and reward those who put her on TV. It’s kind of like how the Final Ep of FNL was not necessarily the greatest writing of the series, and how the Mad Men episode that it beat was probably the best Mad Men episode ever – but sometimes rewards need to be given to keep people going.

Melissa McCarthy is a funny, funny lead actress. She’s fighting off offers at the moment. That in itself is so unusual as to be notable. But I think in this case – and award-watchers among you can think of thousands of similar examples – the reward is for the work, not for this work.

(Lainey: I have watched this video 3 times. It makes me happier and happier every time.)